


Role Model Dad

by JosephThropp



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Cute Kids, First Meetings, Gen, Slice of Life, post-episode: s03e07 Bubble Buddies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28326510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JosephThropp/pseuds/JosephThropp
Summary: A week after meeting Connie, Steven is enthusiastic about finally introducing her to his dad. It's the closest Connie has ever come to the rebellious world of rock and roll her parents have always steered her away from.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran & Greg Universe, Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe, Greg Universe & Steven Universe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41





	Role Model Dad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TranscendentalSpaceGem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TranscendentalSpaceGem/gifts).



> This was done as a Secret Santa gift for a friend of mine in a Discord server! He's always talked about how he'd love to see a first meeting between Greg and Connie, so here it is! That very first meeting, chronicled for the world to see. Hope it brings the rest of you a little joy too!

_Rock stars are not role models, Connie._

That had been what Connie’s mother had told her once when she was very young. The woman pulled a face as some long-haired man appeared in a commercial playing on their TV, playing his guitar whilst singing loudly into a microphone. That had been the closest Connie had ever been to anything related to the rock world. 

That was until now, of course. Now she was on her way to meet a whole, real-life rock star! 

Granted, Greg Universe had apparently been out of the game for a while now, but that didn’t make him any less of a musician. Steven had shown Connie the evidence in the form of old CD’s that he’d played for her, all filled with songs about living in vans and rebelling against authority. Those things and more all would’ve just horrified her poor mother. 

“It’s just a little bit further this way!” Steven all but squealed from in front of Connie, flip flops slapping away on the pavement as the two of them walked along. The sun was beginning to dip on the horizon, but he was as lively as ever. “My dad’s really excited to meet you! He told me that he got some snacks!” 

Connie couldn’t help but shake her head and smile. “Aw, Steven, that’s sweet, but I don’t think that—” 

“No trans fats included!” 

“Oh!” Connie’s cheeks flushed a darker shade while her smile widened a bit. “You actually remembered.” 

“Of course I did!” Steven said, smiling back at her over his shoulder. “I had to tell him about it. Dads are supposed to know diets and allergies and stuff, in case I forget!” 

“Heh, that’s kind of how it is with my parents. The only difference is that there’s no way they’d ever let me forget diet stuff in the first place.” 

That got a laugh out of Steven, even while Connie only gave a bittersweet smile. What she wouldn’t do for that kind of leniency sometimes. Oh well, this wasn’t a time to worry and fret. She was meeting Steven’s dad today, and it was gonna be great! 

Before, Connie would’ve assumed that this introduction might’ve been hard to hype up after Steven had introduced her to the trio of his literal magical guardians, but that wasn’t the case. If anything, he seemed _more_ excited about this meetup. It was that infectious kind of excitement, too. Steven was so eager about this that Connie couldn’t help but feel the same way, even with the warning that Mr. Universe probably wouldn’t make them tea the way Pearl had. 

After a few more minutes of walking, they reached the end of the block. Immediately, Connie recognized the van that was parked in front of the L shaped building. It was the same one from the CD that Steven had, with the _Mr. Universe_ logo emblazoned on the side. It was probably also the same one that had been done up to resemble a sponge in the parade last year. 

Once they’d come close enough, Steven took off with a sprint, rushing towards the back of the van. Connie’s eyes followed right up to the van’s open rear doors. Sitting there with his legs dangling was Mr. Universe himself, although with an obvious few more years behind him than in that old album picture. His hair was much more...thinned up top, and with some scant grey hairs mixed in among the brunette. 

What apparently _hadn’t_ changed was that love for music. Even as Steven ran up, Greg was plucking away at the strings on an old acoustic guitar. He didn’t exactly sound like he was really playing, more just trying to find a melody, maybe. Either way, it all went out once he saw Steven approaching. The man smiled before standing, setting his guitar down inside the van as he did so. 

“Hey there, little guy!” Greg said as Steven came in and hugged him tight around the waist. He tousled the boy’s hair, grinning at the way his son laughed in response. “Been waiting for you two! I was starting to wonder if maybe you’d gotten lost!” 

“ _Daaaaaad,_ ” Steven whined, “you know we weren’t lost! I’ve walked this way to the car wash like a million times now!” 

“Heh. Yeah, I know ya’ have, bud.” 

Greg gave the boy’s hair another ruffle before looking up, eyes locking onto Connie right away. A knowing grin crossed his face as he suddenly sidestepped and moved past Steven, walking right up to the girl. 

One hand found its way to his hip while he offered the other to Connie in greeting. “And I bet I know who you are. You’re Connie, right?”  
  
“Y-yeah, that’s me!” Connie said with a nod, taking Greg’s hand and giving a firm shake. She could easily see some of Steven in his father. “Connie Maheswaran, pleased to meet you!” 

“Pleasure’s all mine, Connie!” Greg beamed even brighter and returned the shake for a moment, only to pull his hand back and quirk a brow at the girl. “Steven’s told me a lot about you! Says there’s a pretty good story about how you kids met. Something with bubbles, and shiny stuff, and—” 

“And a _giant_ worm!” Steven suddenly interjected, rushing between his friend and father. “It was crazy! Connie had this bracelet that she dropped at the Boardwalk Parade last year, and it was bright like the plants the worm wanted to eat! So we ran under the dock, used the bracelet as bait, and got it all tangled up in the beams!” 

The boy only launched into even more rapid-fire story details from there, beginning to list off everything that had led up to that point. Connie could hardly interject anything with how quickly he was rattling off the events that had gone down last week. That was fine, though. She was content to hang back, folding her hands in front of her while Steven hopped excitedly from one foot to another. 

Greg must have noticed her shying away, though. After just another minute of Steven’s excited rambling, he stepped up and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder, quieting him. 

“This all sounds real exciting, Schtuball, but you’re looking awfully bouncy there,” he commented. “You need to take care of anything before you launch into any big magical adventure stories?” 

That was enough to give Steven pause for a second. His bouncing stopped as he looked up at his dad for a moment, then back at Connie. A slight flush appeared on his cheeks as he gave a nervous little laugh. 

“Oh, uh, I guess I was just really excited to tell you all about it!” he said, backing up towards the Car Wash’s main building. “I’ll be right back, Connie! Don’t tell him about the part with Onion until I get back!” 

With that, Steven finally turned and dashed into what Connie presumed to be the car wash’s office. Must’ve been where the restroom was. That just left Greg and Connie. Greg stared off after his son for a minute, scratching at his cheek. 

“He’s an excitable kid, but he’s got a real big heart,” he muttered. 

“Heh, that’s definitely true,” Connie agreed with a nervous chuckle. “I first noticed him when he fell off his bike and ran away screaming.” 

Greg raised a brow again. “Was that the blue one?” 

“Yeah, with the tiger bell!” 

“Oy!” Greg slapped a hand against his forehead, slowly dragging it down his face. “I told him not to take that thing out on the sand. I don’t want those tires getting all torn up.” 

Was that a rule? Connie had never heard it before. Then again, she’d never really had a bike before. It was all car rides and the occasional bus trip for her. Her mom always said that bikes were a leading cause of accidents in kids, of course. 

“Well, I’ll be sure to keep him in line if I see him trying to do it again,” she quietly assured, nodding her head slightly. 

That didn’t sound like being a friend, though. That sounded like being a mom. Would Steven think she was being a pain if she tried to look out for him like that? The very last thing Connie wanted was to go and start jeopardizing the good thing they had going. She _finally_ had someone who cared about her, after all. 

At least Mr. Universe also seemed mostly...happy to meet her? He’d given no indication that he was anything other than pleased, but Connie couldn’t help but fret. Assuming the worst was just imbued into her at this point. It might as well have been in her DNA. 

“So, Maheswaran, huh?” Greg asked. “Haven’t heard that one before. Is that, uh…” 

“...Oh!” Connie perked up after a second of puzzling over what Greg was getting at. “Yeah, right, we’re Indian! My grandparents on my mom’s side immigrated when they were young, but my dad’s family has been here for longer.” 

Greg hummed in acknowledgment and gave a nod. “Very nice! And what do your parents do?” 

“Mom’s a doctor, and my dad is a private security guard,” Connie answered, forcing herself to keep smiling. She couldn’t furrow her brow here the way she had when mentioning that to Steven. 

“Hoo boy, that sounds...pretty serious. No wonder you’re such a smart kid.” 

That threw Connie for a loop. Her eyes widened behind her glasses as she looked up towards Greg, slightly bewildered by the whole situation. Not only was he joking around about her parents’ work, but he was calling her smart, too! 

“You think I’m smart?” she asked with a soft tone. 

“That’s what Steven tells me! Like I said, he’s told me a lot about you! He’s saving the big story about how it all went down, but he really seems to think you hung the moon.” 

Of course, Steven. It all came back to him. Connie had come around to believing he legitimately liked talking to her by the third day of nonstop texting, but him thinking that she was _smart_ was something else entirely. It made her feel accomplished and brave in ways she didn’t quite understand. Was this what it was like to make a new friend? Warm feeling and excitement to the nth degree? 

“Aw, he’s smart too!” Connie shot back, twiddling her fingers and grinning unabashedly. “Sometimes he overcomplicates stuff a little bit, but he’s still good at coming up with ideas for problems!” 

Greg gave a chuckle as he meandered back towards the van, seating himself on the edge of the rear doorway and picking up his guitar again. “Yep, that’s my little guy alright. He’s got his Gem stuff to keep him occupied, but it’s good to know he’s got other options open to him if he needs to pick up a career for whatever reason. I bet he’d make a good teacher.” 

“Or maybe a good scrub brush,” Connie offered, following after Greg and leaning against the van’s doorframe. 

“A good scrub wha—?” Greg began to ask, only to trail off when the realization hit him. “Oh, geez, right! I forgot all about that float from last year! Remind me to see if I can dig up those photos of him with the bubbles in his hair, I could use a pick me up like those some days.” 

_Oh, absolutely._ Connie made a quick mental note of that, along with a personal addendum to ask for whatever other pictures might exist. She was quite familiar with the zealousness that came from a parent armed with a photo album of baby pictures. Maybe she could even get Mr. Universe to go ahead and share some extra photos while he was at it. 

That was something to worry about later, though. For now, Connie was content to hoist herself up onto the van’s edge alongside Mr. Universe, listening to him pluck out a few more notes on his guitar. Steven would be back soon, but for now, Connie didn’t need him to keep chatting with his dad. Contrary to what her mother had once led her to believe, rock stars were surprisingly personable. 

“Steven plays instruments too, is that something he picked up from you?” she asked. 

“Guilty as charged. Call me a helicopter parent, but I had to at least try and make sure any kid of mine loved music! Being able to jam with him is just a bonus!” 

Oh gosh, _jam._ That was the exact same thing Steven had said. 

“You must’ve done okay, because he’s definitely big on music!” Connie replied with a little snort. “He thinks we should play together sometime. I don’t have the heart to tell him that I don’t think there are any traditional violin and guitar duets, let alone violin and ukulele.” 

“Aw, I wouldn’t be so sure!” Greg stood from the van yet again, keeping his guitar in hand this time. “In fact, wait right here! There’s a vinyl inside the wash that I bet will really give you two some great inspiration!” 

There was a squeak of rubber on the pavement as the men suddenly turned and rushed towards the same office door that Steven had rushed through just a few minutes prior. Connie did as she was told and stayed put, still perched with her legs dangling out from the van’s rear. Among other firsts, this was the first time she’d ever met someone who lived in a car. The lived-in interior was actually kind of nice. The whole thing had a very cozy vibe. 

Cozy, yeah, that was a good word. Throughout this past week of getting to know Steven Universe, Connie had come to identify that sort of feeling with him. It was secure, safe, and comfortable, and all in a way that was so different from her home life. It was nice. 

There wasn’t much time to dwell on it, though. Just as soon as Greg had disappeared into the building, a slow rhythm of slow electronic chimes caught Connie’s attention. A quick reach into her pocket and a glance at the displayed caller ID confirmed that not only was it her phone, it was someone she’d been glad to have a brief reprieve from. 

Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. With a sigh, Connie gave a snap of her wrist that opened up the phone’s earpiece before she lifted it up to her face. 

“Hey mom!” she answered with some put-on brightness. “I was just thinking of calling you. I met Steven’s dad, Greg Universe!” 

“ _Good,_ ” her mother responded without a moment’s hesitation. Even the somewhat tinny quality of Connie’s phone couldn’t disguise the underlying tension in the woman’s tone. “ _Universe isn’t actually their name, though, is it?_ ” 

Connie only shrugged her shoulders. “He’s really committed to the gag if it’s just a joke.” 

Priyanka heaved a sigh. “ _Right. Is he available? I’d like to properly introduce myself.”_

“Oh, uh…” Connie’s eyes glanced over the empty lot around her. “He just stepped away to the bathroom. Do you want me to ask when he comes back?” 

“ _No, no, that’s alright. Next time. I’ve only got this brief moment away from work. I just wanted to at least check-in and make sure all is well. Does he seem like a fair and upstanding man?_ ” 

That only took a minute for Connie to really consider. For not the first time, her parents’ preconception about someone had been way off base. Greg was a former rock star, but he wasn’t some crazed animal. He was an introspective and friendly seeming guy, one who obviously had a lot of love in his heart for his son. 

“He seems like the best kind of dad someone could ask for,” she answered honestly. “Steven was on the money about him being super cool.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to everyone for reading! If ever you'd like to share your thoughts or see what I'm up to, you can always feel free to hit me up over on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/JosephThropp) or [Tumblr!](https://josephthropp.tumblr.com/)


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